UN chief hails Japan-China-South Korea cooperation to ‘denuclearize’ Peninsula

United Nations chief António Guterres has welcomed the Japan-China-South Korea summit held on Wednesday and their effort to cooperate in ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons.

The Secretary-General “welcomes” the trilateral meeting and their cooperation for “the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” said his Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, in a statement issued on Thursday.

“The Secretary-General hopes that the joint resolve of the countries in Northeast Asia will strengthen the path to achieve lasting peace and prosperity in this region,” added the Spokesperson.

According to media reports, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Republic of Korea (ROK) President Moon Jae-in, met in the Japanese capital Wednesday and agreed that the Northeast Asian neighbors will cooperate on ending North Korea’s nuclear program and promoting free trade.

This trilateral meeting followed the bilateral summit on 27 April between the leaders of ROK and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), in which they agreed on measures toward lasting peace on the Peninsula.

Those agreements set out in Panmunjom Declaration include realizing the common goal of “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” and pursuing talks to declare an official end to the Korean War, which devastated the Peninsula, beginning in June 1950.

An armistice brought about a ceasefire in 1953, but the conflict never officially ended because the parties failed to reach agreement over a formal peace treaty.

Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will meet DPRK leader Kim Jong Un on 12 June in Singapore.